


Sweet Dream

by tveckling



Category: Romeo And Juliet - All Media Types
Genre: Angst, Because apparently I was cruel to leave it like it was, Canonical Character Death, F/M, M/M, Mercutio and Benvolio kiss, Now with extra happy ending!, although no one actually dies since they have already died, and Romeo and Julia are all over each other
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-06-17
Updated: 2015-06-17
Packaged: 2018-04-04 21:10:15
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 2
Words: 2,705
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4153065
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/tveckling/pseuds/tveckling
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Despite doing his best Benvolio couldn't walk steadily and tripped over his feet with every other step, clinging to the wall to stay upright. Around him there were happy people, laughing and singing and shouting, but whenever he tried to focus on their faces he discovered they were nothing but mist to his eyes. Somewhere further ahead he could hear Romeo and Mercutio’s laughter and that spurred him on, searching for the faces of his closest companions.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> First of all, this is not beta'd so all mistakes are mine. I made the details purposefully vague so one can read this as canon time or modern au however they want.

Despite doing his best Benvolio couldn't walk steadily and tripped over his feet with every other step, clinging to the wall to stay upright. Around him there were happy people, laughing and singing and shouting, but whenever he tried to focus on their faces he discovered they were nothing but mist to his eyes. Somewhere further ahead he could hear Romeo and Mercutio’s laughter and that spurred him on, searching for the faces of his closest companions. He tripped around one corner, avoided another misty-faced person, and stumbled into a room he immediately recognized; it was the Montague mansion’s big ballroom, and as it had been everywhere else it was filled with faceless people. 

A flash of red caught his eyes and Benvolio left the relative safety of the wall to chase after it. He made his way past dancing figures, telling himself that the empty faces weren't being turned towards him, and looked desperately for that red hair he knew so well. His breath was coming fast and hard and Benvolio felt more and more threatened, alone amongst the dancers as he was. 

There! To his left he could see a tall person with red hair, a figure he recognized so well. His manners had been taken over by panic and Benvolio pushed his way forward, not daring to even blink in case he would lose his goal. Somewhere in the noise made by loud music, singing, conversations, and distant shouting Benvolio could hear Romeo laugh, as though at a joke. His eyes were starting to get teary but Benvolio didn't allow himself to blink. He was only a few steps away now, could reach out and almost _touch_ -

It was as though he had suddenly stepped into another dimension, Benvolio thought dazed when he took a step past a dancer and entered an area empty of people. The music had quieted as well, having become more of a background noise. He was panting, trying to recover his breath, as he looked around. The dancers were still surrounding him but they were leaving a large space, in the middle of which a large sofa was placed. A sob left his throat as he recognized the two men sitting in the sofa, talking and laughing with each other without a care. It hadn't been a loud noise, Benvolio could swear on that, but it drew both’s attention. Romeo laughed in pleasant surprise and Mercutio waved at him. 

“Benvolio! Where have you been? Come here, join us,” Mercutio said with a grin.

Benvolio’s answering smile was small and shaky, but genuine, and with staggering steps he made his way over and sat down between them. Mercutio leaned forward and looked closely as Benvolio with a curious face.

“What's the matter? You are as pale as that time my uncle caught you trying to steal his precious dressing gown.” Mercutio laughed at the memory while Benvolio shivered at the thought of the Prince’s anger.

“That was your fault! You said I had to do it or you'd tell Rosa I saw her naked, which by the way was completely by accident! And then you told her anyway!”

Mercutio shrugged and grinned widely. “Well, you didn't manage to steal the gown, now did you?” Romeo chuckled at that but turned it into a cough when Benvolio directed a betrayed face his way. Mercutio shuffled closer and laid an arm around Benvolio’s shoulder, pulling him closer. “Anyway, enough talk about that. Me and Romeo was just talking about that time you stepped on that dog’s tail, remember that? And it got so angry it started chasing you around.”

Benvolio smiled and tried to pretend he didn't sink deeper into Mercutio’s side. It was comfortable and Mercutio had pulled him close to begin with, so he had no right to complain. “I remember. It was a huge thing, with lots of sharp teeth, of course I ran. And I remember you two running after, trying to grab its tail and make it stop.”

Romeo laughed. “Yes! Mercutio tripped once and fell on his face. It was quite a bruise you got from that.”

Mercutio huffed. “That was because you got in my way, you clumsy buffoon. But if we're talking about people tripping, I recall you jumping for the dog and managing to crash into Tybalt. I don't think I've ever seen him so angry, he thought you did it on purpose,” he said and laughed again. Romeo joined him with more embarrassed laughter. Benvolio chuckled too but then found his laugh stuck in his throat as images -Tybalt with his lips pulled back in a snarl, blood spilling on the ground, a body hitting the ground- flashed by in his mind. 

He didn't notice Mercutio shaking him and calling his name at first but then came back and met naked concern from both his friends. “Wha-what? Sorry. What did you say?”

Mercutio shook his head and poked a finger at Benvolio’s forehead. “You disappeared in there. I must say, I am feeling hurt that you would prefer your own thoughts rather than my company. And Romeo’s as well, of course,” he added as an afterthought.

“Sorry,” Benvolio said with a shaky smile. “Just, I don't know. It already disappeared, whatever it was.”

Romeo and Mercutio shared a quick look and Benvolio was about to ask them what was going on when another person entered their sphere. It was a beautiful young girl, holding a pair of glasses. Benvolio knew her from somewhere, but couldn't place her, and so watched confused as he walked over and snuggled into Romeo’s lap, handing one of the glasses to him. Romeo was looking at her with more love than Benvolio had ever seen him direct at any girl before. 

“Ah, our brave heroine returns to her besotted champion. Did your talk with the cat prince go well, dear Julia?” Mercutio asked sweetly and Benvolio knew her. Julia. Julia Capulet, the daughter of the family and Tybalt’s cousin.

Julia shook her head at Mercutio, but with an expression of fondness. “Maybe if you would stop calling him names you could go talk with him yourself, dear Mercutio. You would find he is not as hard to get along with as you think.”

Mercutio scoffed and pulled Benvolio halfway into his lap, placing his head on Benvolio’s shoulder. “No thank you, I don't think so. I believe I am quite comfortable here and so I shall remain here, without a little kitten to scratch me to death.”

Benvolio jolted at the words, but Mercutio’s grip stopped him from turning around. Romeo and Julia had vaguely uncomfortable expressions but soon turned to each other, talking in low voices. Mercutio pressed his face into Benvolio’s neck and Benvolio prayed Mercutio couldn't feel how his pulse raced.

They sat in stillness for a while. Benvolio didn't feel threatened by the faceless dancers any longer, in fact he barely remembered their existence, and Mercutio’s embrace was soothing. Romeo and Julia was also embraced in an tight embrace of their own, so tight that Benvolio had issues seeing where one ended and the other begun. 

It came as a surprise when he felt Mercutio mumble something into his skin, sending shivers down Benvolio’s back. “What did you say?” he asked quietly. If he talked louder he felt he’d disturb Romeo and Julia.

Mercutio took a while to react but then he moved away from Benvolio’s neck, leaning his forehead against Benvolio’s back instead. “I wish we had done this before. These sorts of things. All sorts of things. Just you and me,” came his low voice. Benvolio twisted around and found Mercutio looking more somber than he’d ever seen him.

“What are you talking about?” Benvolio tried to sound positive and teasing, but it was hard when Mercutio, always so jovial, looked so sad. “Whatever you want to do we can do it, any time you want. Just tell me and I'll accompany you, you know that.”

Mercutio just looked at him before smiling a crooked smile that made Benvolio want to cry. “I'm sorry. I really am, Benvolio. My dear friend. Once you’re done, then we can do everything.” Benvolio opened his mouth to ask again what he was talking about, but a quick press of Mercutio’s lips against his own silenced him easier than any word would have. Mercutio closed his eyes and rested his forehead against Benvolio’s. “But it’s time for you to leave. Don't forget about me, okay?” His voice sounded impossibly small and Benvolio wanted to shake Mercutio, to get back the boisterous daredevil he knew and loved. This side of Mercutio was scaring Benvolio more and more and he reached out his arm-

Only to find himself sitting up in the dark of his bedchambers, one hand reaching out for nothing. Benvolio blinked, looked around, and then remembered. Remembered the Capulet masquerade. Remembered Tybalt’s anger and how he fell by Romeo’s grief. Remembered Romeo and his Julia’s lifeless bodies. Remembered Mercutio. 

Remembered how he was all alone. 

The Montague servants were brought awake abruptly by the sound of a lone voice screaming, a sound of anguish and grief and longing that gripped all of their hearts. It was a sound they had been woken up by at least once a night for the past month. It was a sound they secretly thought would last until Benvolio’s emotions would either break or end him.


	2. Extra ending

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> For Sandrine, who thought I was evil to feed of off her tears.

Benvolio was walking past throngs of festive people, smiling in response as they tried to make him join them. Some of the faces he recognized, but most were unfamiliar to him, and so he declined and kept going. There was a lightness to his steps and the music that was all around him made him almost want to dance, which he noted many around him was doing.

Pushing his way past a couple particularly intent on blocking his way Benvolio found himself entering a large room he immediately recognized. The Montague’s ballroom was filled with more people than he’d ever seen in one place before, but it all seemed so very peaceful and joyous to him. Benvolio took a moment to just look around and was taken back when he noticed someone he hadn't expected; Tybalt Capulet, standing calmly and at ease, conversing with an older woman Benvolio thought he recognized from somewhere. It was such a bizarre sigh, Tybalt inside the Montague mansion, that Benvolio stared. Sure enough, it drew the attention of Tybalt himself soon enough. The peaceful feeling must have taken hold of Tybalt as well though, for all he did was nod at Benvolio, as though they were friendly acquaintances. Benvolio waved back, feeling weirded out but even so determined to show courtesy, and walked out into the crowd.

Dancers kept stopping him, trying to get him to dance with them, but Benvolio kept on pressing forward. There was a place he had to get to, people he knew was waiting for him, one person in particular, although when he tried to remember where he was going he found he didn't know. Benvolio stopped and looked around, trying to get a sense of where he was and hoping it would help him figure out where he was going, but it didn't help. As far as he could see the ballroom stretched on forever, with no walls in any direction he looked, and there was nothing to help him.

A dancer next to him stopped and smiled at him, a gentle smile that for some reason reminded him of childhood happiness. She pointed to his left and patted his cheek before taking the hand of her male partner and beginning to dance again. Benvolio looked after her, trying to remember from where he had met her, but the memory was out of his reach so he turned in the direction she had pointed and began walking again. 

A while ahead Benvolio could see the crowd thinning, and as he continued on he could see a few figures moving. When he came close enough to see them clearly he stopped and just took in the scene. 

Romeo and Julia was dancing slowly together, connected in an embrace and looking for all the world like they’d never been happier. Next to them Mercutio was dancing by himself, moving in a rhythm that was on a whole other level than what either Romeo and Julia or Benvolio heard. It should have looked funny, Mercutio dancing alone and so differently than anyone else, but it only made Benvolio fear his heart would burst with happiness as he watched. He took one hesitant step closer, then another, and so on, until he was close enough to reach out and touch Mercutio. Still he was unnoticed, since the trio all had their eyes closed, and he enjoyed being able to watch Mercutio closely for once without being made fun of. 

Benvolio reached a hand out and out it on Mercutio’s shoulder, making the other man jerk to a still and open his eyes. For a moment they just looked at each other -and was there sadness in Mercutio’s eyes?- but then Mercutio laughed and wrapped Benvolio in a hug. “You’re here, you’re here, you're here,” he said and laughed again. For some reason Benvolio felt his throat tighten and he blinked to get rid of the tears in his eyes.

Romeo and Julia stopped abruptly and separated, Romeo rushing over to insert himself into the hug as well. The three of them laughed and talked about how they had missed each other, and Benvolio could hear he wasn't the only one on the verge of tears. After a while Romeo took a step back wit a sniff and beamed at everyone. Mercutio took a step back as well, but he kept an arm around Benvolio, and Benvolio thought his smile was brilliant. 

Behind Romeo Julia stepped forward to stand next to Romeo, and he pulled her close to his side. “Oh, Benvolio, I had forgotten to introduce you! This wonderful woman is Julia, my wife. And Julia, you know my cousin Benvolio. He’s finally here,” Romeo said and laughed again, unable to contain his joy. Julia chuckled at him and smiled warmly at Benvolio.

“It’s nice to actually meet you, Benvolio. Romeo has told me a lot about you, almost as much as our dear Mercutio has, so it feels like I already know you,” she said. Benvolio rubbed his neck and laughed a little, fearing his face was turning red. 

Romeo looked at Mercutio then shared a glance with Julia. “I believe we should go find Tybalt. There is something I've been meaning to talk to him about,” Romeo said. He hesitated before hugging Benvolio quickly again. While Benvolio couldn't see his face Romeo muttered, “I'm so happy you're here, Benvolio, and I'm so, so sorry,” before he took Julia’s hand and disappeared amongst the dancers. 

Benvolio looked after them for a while before he turned around and faced Mercutio. He looked for -something, anything- in Mercutio’s face but all he got was a grin and suddenly their faces smashed together as they both moved forward. Benvolio jerked backwards and rubbed his nose, which had collided with Mercutio’s teeth. 

Mercutio laughed and laid his forehead on Benvolio’s shoulder. “I can't believe you’re actually here,” he said. 

Benvolio smiled and laid his arms around Mercutio. “And I can't believe you were dancing all by yourself. Isn't there any girl here willing to entertain you?”

“I was waiting for someone special,” Mercutio said and raised his head. Benvolio, feeling freer and more daring than he could remember he’d ever been, moved his head the little distance needed to press his lips against Mercutio’s in a quick kiss. 

“I guess your partner has arrived now,” Benvolio said against Mercutio’s lips. He felt, rather than saw, how a smile stretched over Mercutio’s face.

“You guess correctly,” Mercutio said and took a couple of steps back. Benvolio only laughed when Mercutio bowed, an exaggeratedly deep and dramatic bow that was so typical him. “May I have this dance?”

Benvolio smiled and bowed just as exaggeratingly. “You may.” 

Together they started dancing, to the sound of their joined laughter.


End file.
